Snowboard Review Blog + Features (Archive)
Big news from Mr and Mrs Branner at Venture Snowboards. It appears the worlds first and only wind powered snowboard brand has snared itself a Scandinavian uber pro in the form of Johan Olofsson. Johan rocketed to fame in 1996 with his mind blowing part in TB5, it wasn’t just his record breaking 3000ft of vertical in 35 seconds that’s responsible for his legendary status, but Johan’s ability to mix in the smoothest freestyle tricks into terrain that most other pros wouldn’t even consider riding; 40mph backside 180s between cliff lines were standard procedure. Lets put it this way, Johan pioneered backcountry freestyle before the likes of Gigi Ruff and Travis Rice had reached High School.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Johan Olofsson joins Venture Snowboards RnD team
Ok so I’m a season behind with the Rossignol Twilight, you’re right it was a late release in the 2008/09 season, but there are still a couple of boards floating around on the World Wide Web which can be picked up for peanuts. I bought my Twilight for a ridiculous £100 (about $160) on the internet in October as a bit of a punt. With a tight sidecut ~7m, fish shape (packing a 20mm taper) and an elliptical nose for added float I knew the Twilight would be a powder performer. Some might consider lugging a powder board around a bit of a luxury, I was interested to see if packing a powder specific board is worth the pain, effort and stress of cramming an additional board into your luggage allowance.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Snowboard Review - Rossignol Twilight
So 2011’s freeride boards are looking fantastic, but I know what you guys are waiting for! It’s all about the freestyle park boards. So what’s new for 2011 and what trends are going to be big. I strolled around ISPO picking out boards that bound to sell like hot cakes next season.
Firstly, I don’t know what Forum are doing these days, but it seems to be working! This year’s Scallywag with the Chilly Dog rocker was a monster success thanks to the immediately recognisable SCALLYWAG base graphic. This year’s Scallywag is looking gggrreeaaaattt (said in a pirate accent) and the Pirate’s plank graphic is a nice touch. Another Forum board to look out for is the Forum Holy Molly, no doubt you’ll be seeing the flouro topsheet in lift lines worldwide by December, but I was particularly intrigued by the toe and heel riser at the bindings, I can only assume the ramps are for improved edge hold and response… on a Forum? Surely all they have to do is reach the street furniture you’re sliding?
Stepchild haven’t grown out of their teenage angst stage yet, so their graphics are political, poking fun at the USA’s puppet presidents and out-right controversial with the Whale Dick… yep a cartoon of a whale with an enormous Johnson. It’s not just Stepchild upsetting grandparents worldwide, the Capita Horrorscope returns next season with a mad collage of alien shaped colour, and there’s a new release in the line-up, the Extreme Party Goer… naked Panda’s with boobs adorn the topsheet.. I’m just glad I’m not growing up with these visions in my head!
Demir at Imperivm has been busy readying his legion for another seasonal campaign. Hot graphics throughout the line, the introduction of some rocker boards and the fastest bases in the world (10,000 grade sintered base on the DJVI!!!), I don’t know why we don’t see more of Imperivm, definitely one of my tips for 2011. It’s not just Imperivm who are giving riders what they want, at long last Amplid have released a jib deck, it’s what the kids have been screaming out for and now it’s here. Loaded with Amplid’s new Jib rocker profile (maximises board rail contact between and under the bindings, with a buttery rocker tip and tail), some dope (excuse the pun) graphics, Amplid’s new environmentally friendly recycled Polywood core and the usual high end materials and construction you’d expect from Amplid, the Dopamine is on my test list for May, big time!
I bumped into Max Jenke from Endeavor who was busy readying his merchandise and chatting to the various journalists meandering around Endeavor’s 2011 line. Max has got an eye for graphics; every board he put’s his brand’s name to just look incredible. Whether the Russian cosmonauts on the Hi5 series is my favourite graphic of 2011 remains to be seen, but for now, I’m definitely digging it. On the other hand, a look I’m not feeling is the K2 WWW, obviously conventional topsheet finishes aren’t doing it for K2 so they’re using Ptex for 2011 the first thoughts that spring to mind is excess weight. I’m sure K2 is banking on the all new Fastplant to bring home the bacon. With it’s ridiculously soft flex and mind blowing durability, the Fastplant is set to bring home the Bacon in 2011. On the subject of graphics, Hampus Mosseson’s ride on Omatic, The Sweet get’s a new lick of paint, yep, it is in the form of a neon green Key-tar, damn that guy is too trendy for his own good.
1)Forum Holy Moly. 2) Forum Holy Moly. 3) Stepchild Corporate. 4) Forum Scallywag. 5) Capita Horrorscope. 6) Capita Extreme Partygoer. 7) Imperium First Legion. 8) Amplid Dopamine. 9) Forum The Honeypot. 10) Endeavor Hi 5. 11) Endeavor Colour. 12) Omatic Sweet. 13) K2 World Wide Weapon.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading ISPO Preview - 2011 Freestyle / Park Snowboards
The big release of the year Jones Snowboards, Volkl’s all new powder inspired Soul Surfer, a very limited edition 2m Rad-Air Tanker complete with retro 20 year anniversary graphics and a cool leash detail. 2011’s freeride snowboards have got it going on, Snowboard Review checked out ISPO to hunt out the hottest powder rides for next season.
The first stop on my Whirlwind tour was a quick catch up with Arno from Rossignol to find out what’s going on with the Experience since Jeremy Jones’ departure. Essentially the Experience will remain largely unchanged from this year. With a little input from Xavier De Le Rue they’ve made a few tweaks to the design, like extending the nose and tail for improved stability on bumpy terrain. They’re also exaggerated the lift of the rocker from the bindings to the tip and tail to provide extra float and increased manoeuvrability. To be honest, why would the guys at Rossi want to change something so spot on just for the sake of changing it?
1) Jeremy Jones and the Jones Flagship. 2) Harry Gunz and the Rad-Air 20Yr Anniversary Tanker. 3) Lib Tech Banana Hammock. 4) Rad Air Tanker surf leash detail. 5) Rad Air Tanker graphic. 6) Endeavor Next. 7) Rome Notch.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading ISPO Preview - 2011 Freeride Snowboards
With their recent alliances with the YES. crew and Mr Jeremy Jones, Nidecker Snowboards have exploded back into the public conciousness. Snowboard Review’s head of testing Tom Ewbank took out three of Nideckers big releases for 2010, to see if they live up to the hype surrounding Switzerland’s favourite snowboard factory.
You may have noticed on the website that not many Nidecker boards have been tested, and with so many new brands developing boards at the Nidecker factory SB-R wanted to see what all the hype was about. Being the inquisitive people we are we loaded the car with a small crew of riders and SB-R’s resident photographer Jimbo, and headed to the Nidecker board test at Le Crosets in the Portes De Soliel. An afternoon spent sessioning the park and making the most of the previous days deposit of fresh powder made for perfect test conditions; even though the light was a bit flat at times. Six hours, three boards and five Snickers bars later the test was over, below are our findings:
Posted by Tom Ewbank.
Continue reading Brand Test - Nidecker Legacy, Advanced and NDK Random Snowboards Reviewed
